


Affections

by a_little_hazy



Series: simping over my own lore [5]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, Happy Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Parental Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Phil is tired of these fools, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Protective Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo Gets a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Sort Of, Technoblade-centric (Video Blogging RPF), they all care about each other but are so shit at expressing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 03:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30032340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_little_hazy/pseuds/a_little_hazy
Summary: Techno and Ranboo have different love languages, and both suck at talking about their feelings. Sometimes those two things clash.
Relationships: Ranboo & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: simping over my own lore [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064108
Comments: 30
Kudos: 615





	Affections

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy me coping for 4.3k words

Something was bothering Techno; that much had been obvious. The day Ranboo had spent in the house with him was full of pacing and quiet muttering. Techno had been pulling his hair out of a braid and redoing it for the past ten minutes, seemingly unsatisfied with the quality each time. It didn't really help that his hands were shaking. Ranboo couldn't help the ace in his chest as Techno hastily gathered his hair again, getting more and more tangled by the second.

"Uhm... Techno?" Ranboo softly called, trying not to flinch when Techno whips around.  _ Techno has never hurt you _ , he tells himself.  _ He's even protected you. He won't hurt you _ . "Um. I could... try... if you wanted."

Techno raises a brow at him.

"Your-your hair, I mean."

Techno stands still, staring at Ranboo from across the room. Despite it being such a small house, the distance between them suddenly feels like an ocean. The ribbon used to tie up his hair slips between Techno's fingers, but he doesn't move to fix it. He just looks at Ranboo with an unidentifiable expression on his face.

"I-I mean, only if you want, no pressure or anything--"

"Sure."

"Wh... what?"

"Sure, you can..." Techno shifts uncomfortably. "You can do that."

"Oh. Oh! Good! Great! Can I... can I have the ribbon?"

"Oh, right, yeah."

Techno shuffles over and hands the ribbon to Ranboo with a hesitant hand. Ranboo's worried for a second that he's crossed some sort of boundary with Techno, his hair has always seemed like something precious to him, but Ranboo quickly reassured himself. Techno isn't the kind of person to allow something precious in the hands of people he doesn't trust. He wouldn't be letting Ranboo do this if he wasn't okay with it.

Techno sits next to Ranboo on the couch, slowly turning away and facing his back towards Ranboo. Not letting himself linger on the implications, Ranboo carefully gathers all of Techno's hair. Particular stands are significantly shorter than the others, curing around the base of Techno's neck, but Ranboo only lets himself observe. He combs his fingers through the long hair gently, working out the newly formed tangles until everything is smooth and silky.

Then, Ranboo let himself work. He doesn't remember even learning to braid hair or do anything with hair, for that matter, but his body works with a strange familiarity. His fingers know what they are doing, carefully gather and section off strands of hair. He lets his mind take the backseat, carefully tucking the short hairs up to keep them off of Techno's neck.

When Ranboo is done, he worries he might have gone a little overboard. The brad travels along the back of Techno's head, bringing the hair forward and resting over Techno's shoulder. The ribbon is nicely integrated, though, Ranboo thinks. He sits back and rubs his hands on his pants.

"Techno? I'm done."

In front of him, Techno jolts, blinking a slight haze out of his eyes. Carefully, he reaches back and traces his finger over the braid, Ranboo silently hoping he didn't pull too hard on anything. Techno's fingers linger on the ribbon, and a million thoughts run through Ranboo's head. Were his ears too exposed? Techno had a habit of always having some sort of hair around them. Did he give Techno a headache? Was this too much? Too impractical?

"Thanks, Ranboo," Techno says, snapping him out of his small spiral.

"Oh, you're--you're welcome! I had fun, and uh, you can ask me any time! I'm happy to help!"

There's a small, hesitant smile on Techno's face as soon as Ranboo offers to do his hair more, but he covers it up with a slight cough. He stands, turning away and heading to one of the smaller sections of storage they have.

"I have, uh, I have something that would look good with this," Techno says, pulling out something small, gold, and shiny. "You'll have to put it in, though. It'll be scuffed if I do it."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Ranboo holds out his hands, and Techno drops a thin gold chain into his palm. There are occasional pins decorated with random jewels that fit into the seams of Techno's hair, adorning the braid in a small layer of gold. It looks beautiful, frankly, but Ranboo just lets that warm feeling settle in his chest. His fingers ache to write this all down in his memory book.

Techno sighs happily, his chest expanding and something popping before he lets himself sag. "Thanks," he says again. "I needed this little reset. It looks like the snow has died down, so you can head back to your house if you want. Phil should be home soon, and then we'll make dinner or something."

After that, Ranboo takes his leave, bidding a cheerful goodbye to Techno on his way out.

Ranboo pulls out his memory book as soon as he enters his house door, quickly jogging up the stairs to his bedroom. He tosses everything onto the small table set up near one of the windows, plopping down in his chair and scribbling down everything he could think of. He doesn't know why, exactly; Ranboo usually only writes brief summaries of significant events, but... this felt big to him, somehow. He can't place a finger on it, but once he's done writing and reads over everything he's jotted down, the warm feeling returns to Ranboo's chest.

Phil arrives a few hours later with his inventory full, with a tired but wide grin on his face. Techno had already prepared food for the night, setting it out on the small dining table Phil had insisted on making a few days ago. Phil, seasoned to living with Techno, didn't miss how he would longingly look at one of the empty chairs and how serving sizes were much bigger than normal. Techno had made something new tonight as well, something fresh that filled the whole house with a pleasant smell. If Techno wanted to talk about it, though, he would, so Phil let dinner play out.

"I like your hair," Phil says. He hadn't seen anything outside of a basic braid in a while, and it was nice to see Techno change things up again.

"Ranboo did it."

Phil pauses. "Ranboo?"

"Yeah."

"Does that mean...?"

"I don't know, Phil," Techno says, exasperated. He drops his head into his hands. "Should I even...?"

"Well, let's look at it this way," Phil starts, pushing his plate forward. "Did he seem happy to help?"

"Yes..."

Phil huffs out a small breath. "Well, then, there you go."

Techno gives a pained sort of sound, peeking out from between his fingers at Phil. "Whatever, I'll just... I'll deal with it."

Phil laughs quietly, muttering a small "sure" before pulling his plate back towards him.

"Y'know, you really should've invited Ranboo to dinner--"

"Oh,  _ boo _ , old man. Manage your own kids."

It was the next day where Ranboo and Phil found themselves alone, collecting resources and chatting. There was obviously something Ranboo wanted to talk about, but he hadn't mustered up the courage quite yet.

Ranboo brought down his axe, getting rid of the last branch of the tree he and Phil had cut down. "Techno let me braid his hair yesterday."

Phil pauses. "Oh?"

"Yeah, he, uh... was kind of weird about it? I dunno, could you... do you know why?"

Phil sighs fondly, sitting down on the log. "Techno is a piglin; he was raised in the nether, yadda yadda. Piglins have hoarded, and those are the people closest to them, right? Well... Techno only lets people who are in his hoard interact with his hair... y'know?"

"Oh..."

"Yeah." Phil smiled and got back to work, and Ranboo's thoughts spiraled. Numbly, he got back to chopping the wood up. Oh god, did Techno feel pressured by his offer? Did he actually overstep boundaries? Is--is Ranboo intruding on the close relationships of Techno's life?

Ranboo's eyebrows furrowed. The last thing he wanted was for Techno to feel pressured, or uncomfortable, or cornered in any way. He desperately didn't want to disappoint the man, to allow him his space and not intrude on anything precious. Maybe... maybe he had remembered wrong? Maybe Techno got uncomfortable when Ranboo was zoning out, and he just didn't catch it?

Before Ranboo knew it, the wood was all chopped up, carefully gathered into sacks, and carried back to the houses. Ranboo had insisted that Phil have extra wood--he didn't want to intrude!

"Really, Phil, I've got some wood left over, and you have to split that between two houses! Really, just... just take it."

Phil gave a small wheezing laugh, finally giving in, much to Ranboo relief. "Alright, alright. If you get cold, you have to promise me that you'll come inside with us, then?"

"I promise," Ranboo laughed, saying a quick goodbye before running off to his house. He stores the wood in his basement before anything else, intent on keeping it dry. Then he climbed back up the ladder, dropping some things in the center chest he had yet to move, and headed upstairs, glancing at his desk.

He froze in place when a tiny glint caught his eye. On his desk sat a beautiful gold ring, looking eerily like the kinds that Techno wore. Oh god, had Ranboo stolen it on accident? Yesterday, when Techno had given him bits of gold to weave into his hair, did he accidentally pocket the ring instead of what he was supposed to? He had tossed everything onto his makeshift desk, but he was so immersed in writing, would he have even noticed?

Ranboo picked the ring up. It looked like it would only fit on his thumb, so he's sure he's not  _ supposed  _ to have it. Ranboo's ears flick anxiously. He didn't want Techno to put trust in him and then  _ immediately  _ find out Ranboo stole one of his rings! That would be so counterproductive Ranboo was having a hard time wrapping his brain around it.

He clutched the ring tightly in his palm, rubbing his thumb over the smooth material. He had to return it. It just wouldn't sit right with him if he kept the thing.

Techno knew he was in trouble when he started getting...  _ urges _ . It had barely been a few hours, but his mind always managed to linger back on how  _ little _ gold Ranboo wears. It just--it wasn't right. Gold meant that something was familiar, something good.  _ Wasn't Ranboo those things? _

Techno groaned loudly. He was alone right now; nothing was stopping. After disgruntled contemplation, Techno dug into his gold stash and pulled out his modified potion stand.

_ Nothing fancy _ , Techno told himself. Just a casual little ring, like the ones you wear every day. Nothing big. Nothing with  _ meaning _ .

Techno ignored the part of him that said that the fact Techno was making the jewelry was meaning enough.

Internally, Techno shouted at his thoughts to  _ shut up _ . He needed total silence to focus (although they all knew that was untrue--Techno could work under any conditions). Watching the gold melt was something comforting. Techno hadn't found much time to make jewelry recently, between sleeping, gathering supplies, and busying himself with the syndicate. It was nice to fall back into the gentle, familiar flow of ring making.

Techno ran into his second problem when he remembered the size difference between his and Ranboo's hands. Ranboo's fingers are spindly and thin, clawed but almost delicate looking. Techno's were... not. He ended up having to guess the size, but he can't shake the thought that the ring is still too big.

It's getting late, though, and he's running out of time, so he can't waste any more adjusting the ring's band width. He'd just have to settle with what he's got.

Techno makes his way out of the house, careful not to disturb the snow too much. It feels weird stepping into Ranboo's house without the other there, but he pushes past the feeling, wandering up the flight of stairs. His eyes catch on a small pile of extra quills lying on Ranboo's desk, vibrating slightly from the small draft in the room. It  _ seems  _ like he uses this place a lot, so Techno figures this is a good place to leave the ring so Ranboo will see it.

Satisfied with his work, Techno leaves, heading back to his own house and waiting for Phil and Ranboo to arrive. He hears the two laughing outside before he hears Phil's footsteps on the stairs, pushing open the unlocked door with a single wing.

"Hey, Techno!" Phil laughs, shaking off the snow that had been gathering on him for the past few hours.

"Ugh, you couldn't do that outside?" Techno complains, which only makes Phil laugh more.

"What'd you get up to today?" Phil finally asks, tipping back his hat and shooting Techno a warm smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Techno laughs. "I just hung around, really. Nothing big."

Phil hums, and there's a little something that's hidden under his voice that Techno isn't willing to look into right now. "We got extra wood today, so I'm gonna get to storing it in the basement."

"Sounds good!" Techno calls, Phil already disappearing down the ladder.

Techno settles himself, resting an elbow on the dining table and turning his gaze to the window. Distantly, he can see Ranboo's house. He wonders if Ranboo will like the ring. He hopes so. The piglin part of him buzzes at the idea of Ranboo wearing his gifts.

"Alright, mate, I'm gonna head out and play with my trains now," Phil says, catching Techno's attention. He snorts.

"Later, grandpa. Have fun."

Rather childishly, Phil sticks his tongue out, pushing his way out of the house and disappearing into his own. Who knows what Phil gets up to in his basement.

Techno lets himself fall into the peaceful silence the tundra brings. Everyone is home, so he doesn't even have to worry about something happening to them while they're away. It's been... nice. Knocking at the door breaks the silence, though, and with a slight groan, Techno stands to open the door.

Ranboo is standing on the other side, clutching the ring Techno made tightly. Quickly, he took a step back to let Ranboo in. Ranboo steps in, his tail swaying behind him.

"Hey, Techno," Ranboo says, drawing out the 'y.' "I, uh, this was in my house, and uh, I just wanted to--I wanted to return it to you. I didn't even, I didn't want it! I swear! I have no clue how it got there, or maybe I just forgot something? I don't know. I just remember how much you like gold and... Um. Sorry, uh. Sorry, I had this. You can take it back, now."

Ranboo holds out his hand roughly, tail thwiping back and forth now. Techno was... a little stunned, but he held out his hand away, hating the weight of the ring as it dropped into his palm. The small jingle of the golden chan in his hair is more annoying than ever.

"Sure," Techno bristles, crossing his arms so he could have somewhere to shove his hands. "Sure."

Ranboo nods, stumbling over his words before deciding it was best for him to leave. Techno didn't stop him, and they ended the night feeling very much like the other hated them.

Techno tried again a few other times, trying to get more accurate with the ring size. Surely it was just because the gifts were subpar, right? Ranboo wasn't just... rejecting Techno? That.. that had to be it. Techno couldn't imagine that Ranboo would just...  _ do that _ . Reject the hoard. Reject him and Phil.

The idea was wearing down on him. Techno had never had someone... refuse to participate in a hoard before. To was hurting something deep in him, his need for community and companionship. His tail dragged behind him most days, and his ears sagged a little more than usual. He'd been stocking up on his own ring collection, wearing the extra accessories for added comfort.

He scattered the gifts around Ranboo's areas as much as he could. He'd leave them on top of chests whenever he stopped by for a visit, hiding the rings in his palm so Ranboo wouldn't see him come in with them. He'd taken to leaving more on the desk Ranboo wrote whenever he wasn't around, anything to try to get Ranboo to just accept his little tokens. Anything to get Ranboo to acknowledge his place in the hoard.

Ranboo, on the other hand, had growing paranoid about the rings showing up in his house. Techno had been around a lot, and he's been fiddling with his jewelry almost every time Ranboo turned to look at him. Maybe he'd forgotten to put some pieces back on? It seemed unlikely, but it was the only explanation he could come up with. Had he been stealing jewelry when he Enderwalked? The small pile on his desk was starting to drive him insane.

Ranboo picked up a grass block, sighing to himself. There was no way to fix this with the information he had, Ranboo thought, but he was sure as hell not going to talk to  _ Techno _ about stealing  _ his _ belongings. Phil was the best bet in this situation.

Ranboo hadn't seen Techno around all day, so it was pretty sure to assume he was out doing something. He  _ had _ seen Phil, though, which meant this was as good of a time as ever to pop in and ask a few questions.

Ranboo gently rasped on the door, waiting patiently for Phil to answer the door. When he did, Phil shot him a warm smile, ushering him in so he could continue working with some stone he had just collected.

"What's up, mate?" Phil asked.

"Uh... well," Ranboo cringed at how his voice pitched up, and he fiddled with his trimmed claws. "Has Techno been... I don't know... kind of forgetful recently? Like, is everything okay or did something happen...?"

Phil takes a moment that felt like an eternity to mull over Ranboo words, the stonecutter in front of him whirring away. His face shifting through so many emotions that Ranboo lost track. Eventually, Phil settles on something between concerned and amused. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I, uh, I've been finding these around my house a lot-" Ranboo holds out a handful of rings "-and they're clearly Techno's and... I dunno. I just wanna make sure I'm not stealing them? Or the like, nothings happened that has, like, really shaken him or anything. I-I remember when it's just him and me on trips; he used to act way different and..."

Phil looks at the rings, then at Ranboo, and then starts  _ laughing _ . Ranboo, as distressed as he is, makes a small  _ vwoop _ in response.

"What? Did I say something wrong? I-"

"No, no, you didn't say anything wrong," Phil chuckles. "I think it's best if Techno explains, and I know, I know it's frustrating. But it'll happen soon, and if it doesn't, I'll make it."

Ranboo's small, distorted laugh mingles with Phil's briefly. He clutches the rings in his hands, running his thumb over the material. He had gotten into the habit of doing that recently.

"So... should I keep these, or...?"

"Keep, definitely."

Techno had made food, again, looking longingly at the empty seats at the table. It made Phil repress a chuckle, seeing Techno so sad over something so fucking dumb.

"Y'know, Ranboo told me all about the mysterious rings that have been showing up all over his house," Phil says, holding back a laugh when Techno freezes.

"Has he?"

"Yeah," Phil laughs. "Techno, he thinks he's, like, stealing them from you somehow, or that you just keep forgetting them."

"I'm clearly not?"

"He's got shit memory, Techno!" Phil laughs. "Look, I know it's tradition to not give anything directly, but he needs a little help. Talk with him, explain things. He's probably sitting in paranoia about how all this shit shows up in his house."

Techno fucking  _ wines _ , rocking in his chair slightly. "Wh-what do I even say?"

"Just explain yourself! Jesus Christ!" Phil laughs.

Much to no one's surprise, Techno does not want to explain himself. And true to his word, Phil makes him do it anyway.

"Phil, Phil, I swear to god, Phil," Techno threatens through the door. This is what he's become, trapped in his own home, windows blocked by obsidian by his most trusted companion. Ranboo hovers anxiously behind him.

"Talk!" Phil demands, his voice bordering on hysterical laughter. 

"We're both terrible at that, and you know it!" Ranboo calls.

"Yeah! Let us out!" Techno banged his fist against the door, but the wood didn't so much as budge. Finally, Techno sighs in defeat and glances at Ranboo. He's standing, hunched over, hands clasped between each other and tail wrapped around his shin.

He runs his fingers through his hair, finally beginning to fall out of the secure braid Ranboo had crafted it into. He weighs his options before making his decision. He was going to fight Phil so hard after this.

"Ranboo, would you... mind putting up my hair again?"

Ranboo blinks owlishly at him, taking a few seconds to process the request. When things click in his brain, he flushes slightly in embarrassment.

"Sure, sure, yeah."

Techno slips the ribbon out of his hair, letting Ranboo get himself comfortable before sitting in a position that mirrored the first time this happened, nearly a week ago.

Ranboo gently cards his fingers through Techno's hair, undoing the braid and smoothing out the knicks and knacks that formed over time.

"So... this is about the rings," Techno starts, holding back a small sigh. Ranboo's hands still momentarily before continuing. "I'm sure Phil has told you some things, already?"

"Yeah," Ranboo says slowly, not wanting to break the mood by speaking too loud or fast. "He told me that you... you only let people you really trust to your hair. Something about a hoard? And piglin things? I got really scared I was intruding on something..."

Techno huffs. "No, kid, if I didn't want you touching my hair, the option never would've existed in the first place. The hair thing is from... my old family. It's a piglin thing, hoards. The closest human equivalent is a family. It works a little different, but... y'know. Close enough."

Ranboo hums, just to let Techno know that he's listening. Now that Techno's hair has been smoothed out as much as possible, he gathers a small group towards the top of Techno's hand and begins to braid it.

"Gift-giving is sort of... it's not a tradition; you just... do it a lot. In the form of gold. The, uh, craftsmanship makes it more personal, I guess."

Ranboo's breath hitches. "Those were all, like, gifts? Oh my god, and I just returned them. Oh my god, that was so rude! I thought--I thought I like, accidentally stole them from you or something!"

Techno chuckled in a way that is so him, finally letting himself relax into the feeling of his hair getting guided around and manipulated. "I... figured so much. It hurt a lot? At first? But, it's nothing you need to apologize for. It was--it was me. You just. You didn't know."

Techno laughed, mostly to himself. Had he really gotten so comfortable with Phil knowing all his ticks and habits?

Ranboo chucks as well. "This is such a mess. How are we so bad at this?"

"I don't know!"

The two of them fall into a strange, comforting sort of silence. Ranboo braids the smaller one he made on top into a larger one that gathers all his hair, resting neatly against his back. Ranboo hummed happily to himself, tugging on a few sections, so they have a little extra wiggle room. Techno takes Ranboo's hands leaving his hair as the cue that he's done, shifting his position. 

"One time, Phil told me that my love-language was gift-giving or something. I just... everything that's showed up, they're gifts. From me. Because you're like... kind of in my hoard now? And I feel the need to give them to you."

Ranboo lets out a soft "oh," pulling out one of the rings he's stored in his pocket. He rubs over the band, something he'd easily fallen into the habit of once Phil told him to save everything. "It's how you show you care..."

"Basically, yeah."

Ranboo nods, his thumb still rubbing over the gold. "I... I tell people that I care by telling them that I remember. I only remember things that are really important to me, y'know? Really-really important. And I remember coming here, I remember spending time here, I-I remember  _ you _ . It's not just because we live close, either, like some-some people in L'manberg. I'll have to take out my book and thumb through it. But never... never you."

"...do you remember when I stole that enchanted golden apple?" Is all Techno says, but Ranboo has never felt more  _ heard _ .

"Yeah, actually, I do," he laughed. "I finally managed to find one, like, a week ago."

"Ha. Nice," Techno says, leaning back on the couch. "Phil! We've had our heart to heart! Unlock the door, please!"

Phil stumbled in a moment later, laughing and all too pleased with himself.

"I'm gonna take your last life, Phil," Techno says, although he doesn't move at all.

"Aww, thanks, make," Phil jokes, pressing his hands into his cheeks. "Love ya too, mate."

Ranboo chuckles, rolling the ring around between his fingers. After a small moment of thought, he slips the ring on, and it just feels right. He pretends to ignore the small rumbling noise that forms in Techno's chest for the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> sobs and cries and absolutely perishes
> 
> lmao if u wanna cry with other people join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/7VymgKAVWR)!


End file.
